PROVIDENCE – An Indiana woman was sentenced to three years in federal prison after defrauding an elderly Rhode Island widower out of nearly $80,000, U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary A. Cunha announced Thursday.
Brittany Rakia Shawnai Lasley, 34, of Anderson, Ind., was charged with wire fraud after admitting to a federal judge on Sept. 6 her role in the online romance scam.
Lasley admitted that she created a fake account on the online dating site Plenty of Fish. When contacted by the 96-year-old Coventry man, Lasley promptly began a campaign to persuade the victim to provide her with money, credit cards, gift cards and his personal identifying information.
She led the victim to believe that providing her with these items would facilitate meetings between the two and foster a romantic relationship. During the scheme, Lasley fraudulently obtained access to the victim’s checking account and credit cards and made numerous unauthorized purchases.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, a federal prosecutor quoted from a victim impact statement submitted to the court by the victim, who wrote that he “was in shock and disbelief. It took me a few days to comprehend what had happened. I was embarrassed, horrified, and distressed about my financial situation, fearing that I could lose the house I had lived in since 1970.”
U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith sentenced Lasley to 36 months of incarceration to be followed by three years of federal supervised release, the first six months to be served in a residential reentry facility.